MIES (Switzerland) - The FIBA Central Board convened at the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball, FIBA's headquarters, to wrap up an exciting year that was filled with numerous highlights and achievements.
The following key topics were discussed at the meeting:
FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments and Olympic Games 2024
The Central Board approved the reports on this year's FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments 2024 that were played in Greece, Latvia, Puerto Rico and Spain, and the Olympic Basketball Tournaments Paris 2024 for both men and women.
The 2024 summer of international basketball had record-breaking engagement levels on all FIBA digital platforms for an Olympic year, with exceptional numbers across the entire spectrum of social media and website metrics for all 2024 FIBA events directly linked to the Olympic Games. Basketball fans of the 2024 Olympics also delivered an outstanding performance, turning out in exceptional numbers in Lille and Paris and helping break the Olympic attendance record. A total of 1,078,319 fans attended the Women's and Men's Olympic Basketball Tournaments.
The Central Board has also acknowledged that the early starting date of the LA28 Olympic Games on July 14, 2028, will require, even after necessary adjustments in the professional league calendars in June 2028, joint efforts among the International Olympic Committee, FIBA, and LA28 to facilitate the logistics for the teams qualifying from the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, which will take place between June 26 and July 2, 2028.
FIBA Continental Cups 2025 Qualifiers
Reports were received on the recent Window 2 of the FIBA Continental Cups 2025 Qualifiers, including preparations for the FIBA EuroBasket, FIBA AfroBasket, FIBA Asia Cup and FIBA AmeriCup for both men and women. These flagship continental events are scheduled to take place in 2025, with the recent round of Qualifiers drawing large crowds across the globe.
FIBA Basketball World Cups Bidding Process
The Central Board has approved an open-ended parallel bidding process for both the men's and women's FIBA Basketball World Cups. This process mirrors the one used for the 2026 and 2027 World Cups, allowing candidates to submit their proposals when they are ready.
The bidding process for the next FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup will begin in July 2025, while the process for the FIBA Basketball World Cup will start in November 2025.
FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026
Preparations for the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 continue with the Central Board approving the latest report, which included details on the recent Pre-Qualifying Tournaments held in August 2024 in Mexico and Rwanda.
Upon proposals from the FIBA Sub-Commission for Women's National Teams, the Central Board has approved two format changes:
Qualifying Tournaments for the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 will be played in four groups of six teams, with all teams playing each other in a round robin system, increasing the window length to 11 days.
The FIBA Women's Olympics Pre-Qualifying Tournament 2026 will be played with eight teams, two groups of four, with the winner qualifying to the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments 2028.
FIBA U17 and U19 Basketball World Cups
The Central Board approved reports on both the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cups set for 2026 and preparations for both the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025, to be played in June in the Olympic Capital of Switzerland, and the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup 2025 in Brno, Czechia in July. The draws for both U19 World Cups have been finalized and are set for early 2025. The men's draw will be held in Lausanne on January 31, while the women's draw is scheduled for February 4 in Brno.
3x3
The Central Board received detailed season reports for both the 2024 3x3 Women's Series and the 3x3 World Tour. The 3x3 Women's Series reached record-breaking engagement, with the Final bringing the 2024 season to a close in Hangzhou, China, on September 7-8.
Meanwhile, throughout an exciting 3x3 World Tour season at 17 iconic locations, some of the world’s best 3x3 basketball players thrilled fans worldwide. The season concluded with an exciting Final on November 24 in Hong Kong, China, which was a repeat of the Paris 2024 Olympics Gold Medal game.
With both competitions continuing to raise the bar year-on-year, these updates highlighted the significant achievements and milestones reached throughout the season, as well as the global outlook for 3x3 in 2025.
Club Competitions
The Central Board approved reports on several key club competition events, including the FIBA Intercontinental Cup 2024 in Singapore, the Basketball Africa League Season 4 and the Road to BAL 2025, the Basketball Champions League, Basketball Champions League Americas, Basketball Champions League Asia, and the other club competitions held in Asia.
FIBA Plus
An update was presented on FIBA Plus, which highlighted that 112 National Federations received support through FIBA Plus activities, either in Planning or Implementation Support in 2024. A comprehensive update was also given on the FIBA Academy, which is set to be operational in 2025.
eFIBA
The Central Board received a season report on eFIBA Season 3, detailing the progress and achievements of the competition. Additionally, preparations for the highly anticipated eFIBA World Finals, set to take place in the Philippines next week on December 11 and 12, were presented.
Other Matters
The Central Board has approved the concept of Masters events to engage players in the 40+ age category, with the objective to implement the first ever Masters competition for Basketball and 3x3 in 2026.
Following the findings of the latest International Basketball Migration Report 2024, the Central Board has approved the creation of an expert group focused on Young Players and the NCAA. This initiative aims to deepen the understanding of developments within the NCAA, particularly concerning player remuneration and its implications for clubs, leagues and National Federations.
Additionally, the Central Board approved the FIBA Consolidated Budget 2025 and Plan 2026-28.
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